Is the stress in your life making you fat? Could stress be the reason that you cannot lose weight? Let’s explore how stress affects the body and strips us of our health. When the body gears up to deal with stress, two stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, are released to mobilize fat and carbohydrates stored in the body for quick energy needed for the “fight or flight” reaction. Once the stress is gone, adrenaline goes away, but cortisol stays around to help refuel the body and bring it back into balance.
One way it does this is by giving you a RAGING appetite that drives you to replace the carbohydrates and fats you’ve used up in the crisis. Under chronic stress, levels of the adrenal hormone cortisol remain high, creating build up of tummy fat, which is our primitive emergency energy supply and suppressing thyroid function. Cortisol also plays a role in sugar control.
The adrenal glands secrete cortisol to divert energy to meet the increased needs of our muscles and brain to respond to the stress. In today’s world with so many people being pushed beyond their normal coping ability to handle stress, elevated cortisol levels become chronic, leading to many functional problems including depressed immune function, low thyroid function, problems with sugar control and eventually, adrenal fatigue (“burnout”) and chronic illness. Stress eating and weight gain are the result of cortisol stimulating insulin, the hormone manager of fat stores to promote fat storage.
Today’s Health Building Tips to Manage the Stress in Your Life and Conquer Food Cravings:
• To turn off your toxic stress reactions, you have to first reconceptualize your stresses. If you don’t sense then as stressful, you won’t experience then that way.
• Secondly, if you feel angry or fragile after a difficult situation - take a walk.
• Wait ten minutes before giving in to a craving. Find something else to do for 10-15 minutes before you eat anything.
•Never go hungry: Hunger triggers intense cravings for sugar, so when hunger strikes, eat some protein food or nuts.
• Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. These foods help eliminate free radicals produced by stress.
• Avoid burnt, barbequed and fried foods. These foods burden your body with excessive amounts of free radicals.
• Eat small, frequent meals instead of few large ones. This will help to stabilize bloods sugar levels.
• Drink 2 to 3 cups of green tea daily. It contains an amino acid called theanine that helps control stress levels.
• Turn off the TV. TV exposes you to a variety of foods that are designed to trigger food cravings.
• You should supplement with vitamins A, B, C and E. These nutrients help rebuild the adrenal glands and support the body during stressful events.
• Getting enough sleep is important. Take your calcium before bed because it promotes relaxation.
• And lastly, exercise regularly and drink your water